Saturday, January 31, 2009

I have so much to blog about - I was in Kathmandu last week and had a great time - but I haven't had a chance to put my pictures together so that will have to wait another day or so, but I just had to take a second to blog about two of my favorite things this week.

First, I have been reading a brilliant book "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is about Greg Mortenson's mission to build schools for children, especially girls, in Pakistan over the last 15 years. I learned more about the problems in Pakistan and Afganistan from reading this book that I have in all the news articles I've read over the years. But more importantly, I was inspired with the difference a single person can make in the lives of others. If you want to feel inspired, pick up this book, I promise you won't regret it.

If you need a little peaceful music to accompany your reading, check out the new Dido - Safe Trip Home. Her music always seems to relax me and make me question myself at the same time. A pretty good combination.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

As I pulled the pictures off my camera for my last post I discovered an adorable shot of Miss M. It made me a bit homesick for her and I can't wait to see what she is doing in a few weeks when I get to hang out with her again.

For a beautiful little girl who loves music, a beautiful song.

To you, I would give the worldTo you, I'd never be cold'Cause I feel that when I'm with youIt's alright, I know it's right

And the songbirds keep singingLike they know the scoreAnd I love you, I love you, I love youLike never before

I'm living in a new apartment this year in Delhi, and it is, in a word, soulless. It's fairly new, the furniture is nice and of good quality but it the walls are bare and very white. The floors are a cream colored marble which tends to make you feel like you are living in a white box.

Since this isn't my place and I'm only here part time I spent the last two weeks debating whether to spend a little money to spruce it up. I finally came to the conclusion that if I had to spend 6 months staring at these white walls I was going to go crazy. So today went to the mall (a relatively new concept in Delhi) and bought a few things - a new bedspread and a couple of table cloths one to cover the desk and one I hung on the wall over the bed. My goal was to add a bit of Delhi color to the place. It's not quite there yet, but my bedroom is a bit more colorful tonight than it was this morning.

I'm off to Kathmandu next weekend where I'm hoping to pick up a cheap rug or two and something to put on some of the other walls.

Today, as I add a little color to my world, it seems a good time for a song about seeing life "In Color" from a guy with a great name.

A picture’s worth a thousand wordsBut you can’t see what those shades of gray keep coveredYou should have seen it in color

Friday, January 16, 2009

I like Neko Case, so when I saw a headline saying I could download a song, "People Gotta Lot of Nerve" off her new album for free, I followed the link, downloaded it and loved it. But in my search for the song I discovered that for every blogger who posts the song, a cash donation will be made to Utah's Best Friend's Animal Society.

Best Friend's is an amazing organization - they save thousands of animals, in fact they helped save my family's dog. Sam had a serious biting problem and we were afraid we were afraid we would be able to keep this dog we had all fallen in love with. Somehow mom heard about Best Friend's dog psychiatrist, and even though we'd never heard of such a thing, she decided to give them a call in a last ditch effort to save Sam. After a few discussions with Best Friend's we better understood what was causing Sam to bite and were able to adjust our behavior around him. Now many years later, he is a much loved member of the family who no longer bites.

So, in Sam's honor, here is Neko's new song, and if you want to make sure Best Friend's gets another donation by posting Neko's song on your blog, here are the instructions:

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

This trip to Delhi has been a bit of a surprise - instead of the heat and humidity I'm used to I find I'm freezing. It really isn't that cold, mostly 60's during the day and 30's at night. The problem is that buildings here are built to keep cool in and heat out. The marble floors never do warm up and we get by with small space heaters to attempt to keep our rooms warm. Genius that I am, I only brought sandals to wear (except for my sneakers, which just won't do it at work.)

Saturday, January 10, 2009

One of my favorite gifts this Christmas was the Mama Mia DVD. I saw this movie for the first time on the airplane - and everyone sitting near me must have thought I was crazy, because I know I had a smile on my face the entire time the film was on. It took me back to those slumber parties I had when I was young where we watched Grease over and over again so we could sing and dance along.

I couldn't wait to get a copy of the movie so I could see it on a better screen- and I found myself watching it multiple times over the holidays, and every time I watched I found myself laughing and singing along.

I first saw Mama Mia on stage with my friend Jen on one of our Seattle theater nights (I miss those so much!) I loved it then and love it now. If you ever need a pick me up - this is just the thing.

On about the 5th viewing I left the DVD playing while the credits were running and discovered a beautiful song, "Thank You for the Music" that I can't stop singing.

She was old enough to almost understand what was happening and we couldn't get enough of buying her gifts. Santa played a visit to our house for the first time in years and we all sat around the living room waiting for her to come and see what he left. I chose a spot just to the side of her gifts so I could get photos of her reaction. She walked into the room and nervously glanced at all of us sitting around watching her - I think she realized she was on stage. Her mom set her down, but rather than walking to her toys, she walked right into my arms, a pretty special moment for this proud auntie (good thing I spent the Monday before Christmas tending her so she had a chance to warm up to me again after my trip.)

She soon discovered the joys of her new toys, especially her pink princess chair.

This girl got a lot of great stuff, but I have to say, one of the things I love about her the most is how much she loves books. I know it is really to soon to tell, but I think she is going to grow up to be a reader and I can't wait to start sharing some of my favorite books with her.

It is time for me to play catch up in blog land and I've decided to start with my trip to Rio.

After a sad couple of weeks I got back on an airplane and headed to sunny Rio - it was a very busy trip work-wise (which was good for me mentally) even if I had to wear the same set of clothes for 3 days while I waited for my suitcase to catch up with me (thanks for that Delta.) I didn't have time to see the sites or hit the beach, but I did have time to catch up with some of the friends I made there.

Several people greeted me with a "Welcome Home" and it really did feel like I had come back home. The trip helped me realize again what great friendships I made there and how much the experience of living and working in Rio changed my life. I know there were times while I was there that I was counting down the days until I was back in my familiar world, but on this trip I realized how comfortable Rio felt and I hope that I'll see Delhi in the same light someday.

To my Brazilian friends, it was so good to see you again - and now it is your turn to visit me. Until then, here's a little old school shout out from me to you to thank you for making me feel so at home in your beautiful country - not to mention all the time you played translator and chauffeur.